Partnership and LLC Bankruptcies: Tips and direction for emerging problem areas facing lawyers who represent LLC and partnership entities or their members and partners

William Smelko | Procopio

Bill focuses on business bankruptcy, restructuring and corporate governance disputes. He advises banks, credit unions and other financial institutions on a variety of bankruptcy related matters, including plan confirmation objections, asset disposition and use motions, stay relief litigation, lease disputes and the prosecution and defense of discharge objections and nondischargeability complaints.

Bill litigates all aspects of bankruptcy matters from both the creditor’s and debtor’s perspective. He is an experienced federal and state court litigator with extensive experience in defending and prosecuting writs, due process violation claims and political challenges based upon both statutory and constitutional rights claims for relief.

Evan T. Miller | Bayard P.A.

Evan T. Miller is a director at Bayard. Evan concentrates his practice in the areas of corporate bankruptcy and restructuring, representing debtors (both voluntary and involuntary) and trustees, in addition to asset purchasers, landlords, official committees of unsecured creditors, secured creditors, vendors, and preference and fraudulent transfer litigants in bankruptcy courts across the country. His clientele stems from a wide range of industries, including aviation, blockchain/cryptocurrency, restaurants, insurance, retail, healthcare, energy, and education, among many others, and he has worked with them on both in-court and out-of-court restructuring matters. He is a frequent speaker and author on these topics and others in the restructuring space, including with respect to cryptocurrency, blockchain, and the treatment and valuation of virtual assets in bankruptcy. Evan is also a certified mediator for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware and is included on the Register of Mediators and Arbitrators maintained by the Court. He has also served as an expert witness in the areas of restructuring and insolvency.

Since 2016, Evan has been recognized by Super Lawyers® magazine as a Delaware Rising Star in the area of business bankruptcy. Evan has also been named to Benchmark Litigation’s 40 and Under Hot List since 2019 for his nationwide practice in bankruptcy litigation. In 2021, Evan was named (i) an Emerging Leader by The M&A Advisor; (ii) an ABI 40 Under 40 Emerging Leader in Insolvency Honoree; and (iii) a Top Lawyer in the 2021 Top Lawyers Edition of Delaware Today magazine. Evan was also named an Americas Rising Star Dealmaker by the Global M&A Network in 2022. Chambers USA also recognized Evan in 2022 for his work in bankruptcy and restructuring in Delaware.

Evan created and maintains the Avoidance Action Update Blog at https://www.bayardlaw.com/blog, which tracks the latest developments in avoidance action case law and jurisprudence.

Evan is very active in the local and national restructuring community, currently serving as Vice Chair of the American Bankruptcy Institute’s (ABI) Real Estate Committee, executive board member of the Turnaround Management Association Philadelphia/Wilmington (TMA) chapter (whose scope covers the Philadelphia metro area, the state of Delaware, and southern New Jersey), Treasurer of Delaware Bankruptcy American Inn of Court, and Chair of the Business Law Section for the Philadelphia Bar Association, of which he was formerly the Vice-Chair, Communications Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. Previously, Evan served as Chairman of TMA NextGen, Chairman of ABI’s Young & New Members Committee, Chairman and Treasurer of the Delaware State Bar Association’s (DSBA) Young Lawyer Section, Vice Chair of the Bankruptcy Committee for the American Bar Association’s Young Lawyer Division, and Chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Bankruptcy Committee.

Evan currently serves as one of two member contacts for Meritas, an invitation-only international alliance of over 175 business law firms located in over 80 countries. Bayard is the sole Delaware member of Meritas.

Before joining Bayard, Evan graduated cum laude from the Delaware Law School, as well as with Honors from the Delaware Law School’s Institute of Delaware Corporate and Business Law. While in law school, Evan served as the Internal Managing Editor of the Widener Law Review for the 2008-2009 academic year. He was also on the executive board of the Moe Levine Trial Advocacy Honor Society, serving as New Member Competition Chairperson, and being awarded Outstanding Executive Board Member during that time. During 2006-2007, Evan served as a legal intern to the Honorable Chandlee Kuhn, Chief Judge of the Family Court of the State of Delaware. In his final year of law school, Evan served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Jane R. Roth of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Prior to law school, Evan was the recipient of the John J. Serff academic scholarship and a member of several honor societies while attending Bloomsburg University.

I. LLC BANKRUPTCY FILINGS – – – Standing and filing basics | 2:00pm – 2:30pm

II. LLC MEMBER CONCERNS IN BANKRUPTCY – – – Trustees as a “New Member” | 2:30pm – 3:00pm

Break | 3:00pm – 3:10pm

III. PARTNERSHIP BANKRUPTCY ISSUES AND DEVELOPMENTS – – – Conveyance recoveries and risks to partners | 3:10pm – 3:40pm

IV. NON-DISCHARGEABILITY CONCERNS RELATED TO PARTNERSHIP DEBTS – – – An explanation of risks and issues raised in Bartenwerfer v. Buckley | 3:40pm – 4:10pm